Tag: Nixon

The war on drugs is based upon racist propaganda and misinformation that continues to this day. It is designed to rob individuals of their rights, enlarge government departments, steal billions of dollars worth of property from peaceful individuals by law enforcement and to fill prisons up for which judges, district attorneys, police chiefs and others in the justice system profit from.

Henry Anslinger the head of the Bureau of Narcotics which was formed in 1930 was the number one proponent for the ban of Marihunana in America. He helped to gin up support and spread fear and misinformation through the media until Congress finally passed, after a short hearing, the 1937 Marihuana Tax act. This effectively banned Cannabis production and possession in the United States. Henry Ansligner’s own quotes show what was really behind his desire to eliminate this “devil weed”. Here are a few of his quotes:

“Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.”

“…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.”

Marihunana as it was first spelled, was the Mexican word for Cannabis. It was used in place of Cannabis by those who wanted to scare the White American Majority that those of a darker skin tone, were dangerous and got “rapey” and even more violent when they smoked the “Devil’s Weed”. Stories and editorials filled the pages of the news papers at the behest of Henry Anslinger and William Randolph Hearst was all too happy to spread fear throughout the country and sell a bunch of newspapers while doing it. These stories were always about brown people committing horrible crimes against white people, especially white women

Drug Prohibition has always been used to target and punish minorities or those that question government power. The government, the media and competing corporations gin up fear about the use of drugs and its effects on minorities so the majority plead with government to “protect them”. In the 1970’s Nixon took Anslinger’s playbook and greatly expanded it with The War on Drugs. His motives were just as pure as Anslinger’s. Recently one of Nixon’s top aides confirmed that the administration used the war on drugs to punish, control and disrupt black political groups and antiwar activists. He said they used the war on drugs to go after these groups because it wasn’t illegal to be black or to protest the war so they used drug prohibition as an excuse to use government force to punish those that questioned Nixon’s policies by kicking down their doors, arresting them, stealing their property and throwing them in prison.

The effects of the racism that created this evil act still exists today. Here is Jay-Z’s take on it. I don’t agree with all his facts or what he leaves out but he gets the big picture right. One thing I’d like to add that Bill Clinton’s administration greatly increased the number of arrests for cannabis possession. During his first term there was an increase of 60% and he also singed into law the three strikes law that has penalized minorities severely and a lot of times included crimes that were drug related.

Cannabis is an extremely useful plant that has been used in medicine, eaten for food, made into clothing, canvas and into rope for thousands of years. Some people date back its use over 10,000 years or more. In the 1940’s the U.S. government even encouraged farmers to grow hemp (Non-psychoactive Cannabis) for the war effort. The psychoactive variant is extremely safe. There is zero reported deaths due to overdose. It is shown to have anti-cancer properties (by the U.S. government), its shown to help with chronic pain and state’s that legalize Cannabis have up to 25% less opioid overdose deaths as well. And the efficacy and safety of Cannabis was known during Anslinger’s time as well. About fifty percent of all medicine had cannabis in it in the 1920’s. Even studies done in the 1930’s showed definitively that Cannabis didn’t cause anyone including minorities to become crazed, sexual predators. In fact it showed the opposite. Needless to say Henry Anslinger did everything he could to discredit and suppress its findings. The report was called the “Laguardia Report”. Here are the top ten findings of the report.

From the foregoing study the following conclusions are drawn:

Marihuana is used extensively in the Borough of Manhattan but the problem is not as acute as it is reported to be in other sections of the United States.
The introduction of marihuana into this area is recent as compared to other localities.
The cost of marihuana is low and therefore within the purchasing power of most persons.
The distribution and use of marihuana is centered in Harlem.
The majority of marihuana smokers are Negroes and Latin-Americans.
The consensus among marihuana smokers is that the use of the drug creates a definite feeling of adequacy.
The practice of smoking marihuana does not lead to addiction in the medical sense of the word.
The sale and distribution of marihuana is not under the control of any single organized group.
The use of marihuana does not lead to morphine or heroin or cocaine addiction and no effort is made to create a market for these narcotics by stimulating the practice of marihuana smoking.
Marihuana is not the determining factor in the commission of major crimes.
Marihuana smoking is not widespread among school children.
Juvenile delinquency is not associated with the practice of smoking marihuana.
The publicity concerning the catastrophic effects of marihuana smoking in New York City is unfounded.

Using Cannabis instead of Marijuana is a small way to rebel against the power mad individuals in government who derive their livelihood from drug prohibition and the corporations that profit from it as well. Cannabis is an amazing plant that everyone no matter the color of their skin, has the right to consume or not consume. When we use the word Marijuana we are agreeing in some small part with idea that the government or the majority own us, that our lives are not our own. I reject that idea as false and evil. Every individual owns themselves. That means you have sovereignty over your mind and body. No majority of voters, Congress, the DEA or anyone else has the power or authority to violate your inherent natural right of self-ownership.

When you are arguing a point its important not to argue on your opponent’s turf. Those in power still believe they have the right to ban outright or to tightly regulate and highly tax this non-toxic miraculous plant. When we use the term Marijuana we are using a word that the government and the puritanical racists of the past used to start a war that has led to the arrest of 20 million people, led to the theft of billions of dollars of property through “civil forfeiture” and what’s worse is that they funded this trillion dollar tyranny with tax payer money. I reject this word just as I reject the ideological underpinnings of the War on Drugs. I hope others will begin to use the more accurate and scientific term of Cannabis rather than Marijuana so that the truth about this miraculous plant once again is known throughout the world.